xavdid's recent activity

  1. Comment on Humble Choice - July 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
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    Wow, this is a killer month! I can speak to a few of them: Sea of Stars: Gorgeous, fun gameplay, middling story. Worth a play if it's your thing, but won't change your life (for that, see its...

    Wow, this is a killer month! I can speak to a few of them:

    • Sea of Stars: Gorgeous, fun gameplay, middling story. Worth a play if it's your thing, but won't change your life (for that, see its contemporary, Chained Echoes)
    • Tunic is a great mix of puzzles and combat (though the latter is opt-out-able if it's not your thing). It's got a beautiful sense of discovery through its in-game instruction manual that is all glyphs and icons
    • Neon White was one of my personal GotY last year. It's speedrunning / platforming in bite sized levels. Absolutely thrilling. Interesting puzzle gunplay too. Doesn't seem like it should work, but it does.
    • Drop Duchy I literally just finished and heartily enjoyed. It's got a lot of neat mechanics packed in there and is a fascinating combinations of genres. Heartily recommend!

    I haven't played the others, but they look good too!

    5 votes

  2. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    xavdid
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    I just wrapped up my time with Drop Duchy, which was excellent. It's a battle tetris deckbuilding roguelike where you develop your econ as you go to buy / upgrade cards. Once you get a good deck...

    I just wrapped up my time with Drop Duchy, which was excellent. It's a battle tetris deckbuilding roguelike where you develop your econ as you go to buy / upgrade cards. Once you get a good deck going, it's very fun to watch the numbers go up. The tech tree provides good progression and there are a lot of archetypes to play with (plus a few factions, each with unique buildings). There's also a lot of strategy in placing the enemy's buildings disadvantageously. I played it basically nonstop on a trip and it was perfect for short bursts.

    It's also the first thing I really dug into on my Steam Deck and it was very pleasant! I had some battery anxiety (why doesn't it warn you when you hit 20% left??) but it was smooth overall.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  4. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
    Link Parent
    Looks like 4 people entered the Upalu Mundi raffle... but it feels mean to exclude just one person. So I've decided everyone is a winner! I'll get in touch with everyone who entered ( @Eidolon,...
    • Exemplary

    Looks like 4 people entered the Upalu Mundi raffle... but it feels mean to exclude just one person. So I've decided everyone is a winner! I'll get in touch with everyone who entered ( @Eidolon, @Wafik, @fefellama, & @Protected ) shortly to coordinate.

    8 votes

  5. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  6. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
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    That's a great way to put it! There's so much variance that you really never know what will happen. And for a long time it felt so much less commercial than the NFL. It's never really been true...

    That's a great way to put it! There's so much variance that you really never know what will happen. And for a long time it felt so much less commercial than the NFL. It's never really been true but it felt like they played for the love of the school. NIL feels like it's changed that (probably for the best overall, since the kids should get paid), which is sad. I still love the traditions and the passion though

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
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    I'm interested in Vault of the Void I recently got a steam deck and card games seem to work especially well for it! And it looks like fun- I like all the customization. All my grandparents were...
    1. I'm interested in Vault of the Void
    2. I recently got a steam deck and card games seem to work especially well for it! And it looks like fun- I like all the customization.
    3. All my grandparents were great but I have a favorite funny story. My grandfather was an electrical engineer. When they we're dating, my (eventual) grandmother's parents thought he was an electrician. So they had him changing lightbulbs and rewiring light switches. He was a good sport about, but it always cracked me up.

    Thank you!

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
    Link Parent
    Thank you for listing so many keys! The sporting event I'm most excited for is the start of college football! I don't care about the NFL, but college is the perfect mix of tradition and...

    Thank you for listing so many keys! The sporting event I'm most excited for is the start of college football! I don't care about the NFL, but college is the perfect mix of tradition and excitement. Even when we have long bouts of embarrassing losses, there's still nothing like it.

    Key wise, I'd love:

    • Aces & Adventures
    • Crown Trick
    • Patch Quest
    • Roguebook

    Thank you!

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  10. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  11. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
    Link Parent
    Giveaway: entered! And yes, factorio is the GOAT 😁 Excited to dive in more later this year when the final update drops!

    Giveaway: entered!

    And yes, factorio is the GOAT 😁 Excited to dive in more later this year when the final update drops!

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  13. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  14. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Giveaway: entered! and game sent! And that's a great answer! I never played it, but it's a fun way to approach the question. 😁

    Giveaway: entered! and game sent!

    And that's a great answer! I never played it, but it's a fun way to approach the question. 😁

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
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    Giveaway: entered! And I'll send RoR over. I've got many fond memories of playing it!

    Giveaway: entered!

    And I'll send RoR over. I've got many fond memories of playing it!

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
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    Giveaway: entered! And yes, mapamap was great! My wife and I actually played in real life recently. We took off from our home airport but in a direction I didn't expect, so I was trying to figure...

    Giveaway: entered!

    And yes, mapamap was great! My wife and I actually played in real life recently. We took off from our home airport but in a direction I didn't expect, so I was trying to figure out where we were. She thought we went north then east, while we usually bank east pretty quickly. There were some fairly distinctive looking waterways out the plane window, so I pulled up the area on google maps and we could match the geography. I was impressed with how well it worked!

    Such a fun little concept. And I will probably forget, but I trust you. 😁

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  18. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

  19. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June 2026 in ~games

    xavdid
    Link Parent
    yeah, it's such a fascinating concept! turn based, but simultaneous resolution with incomplete information.

    yeah, it's such a fascinating concept! turn based, but simultaneous resolution with incomplete information.

  20. Comment on The 2026 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 25 - July 9) in ~games

    xavdid
    Link Parent
    Hey, I've got the same! This is a great list, too. We're always looking For good next options. I'll add some of the games my group has played (scored out of 4): ⭐⭐ Torchlight 2 - a decent take on...

    I'm part of a group of 4 that has been playing co-op games weekly for years now, so everything below supports up to 4 players.

    Hey, I've got the same! This is a great list, too. We're always looking For good next options.

    I'll add some of the games my group has played (scored out of 4):

    • ⭐⭐ Torchlight 2 - a decent take on Diablo 2, but didn't quite land for us. Has a little too much story for casual play and most of the gear is junk, but it's a competently made game
    • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gloomhaven - a great adaptation of the board game. The levels were good and we loved the light story and good sense of progression. Unlocking new characters was always a highlight, too.
    • ⭐⭐⭐ Across the Obelisk - co-op Slay the Spire. There are a few too many mechanics (there are 9 damage types??) but it's fun to synergize with buddies. The character progression is good. It could use a little more variety (there are only a few bosses) but the core gameplay is strong. Has a great method of breaking ties when choosing a direction to go on the map.
    • ⭐⭐ Wildermyth - a cool concept that was only ok in practice. I liked the long-term consequences of choices, but all of the dialogue being procedural meant none of the writing was especially interesting. Gameplay was decent, but you're starting from scratch a lot with new characters, so it gets a little repetitive.
    • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Terraria - excellent resource mining and progression based around increasingly difficult combat. There's a million things to find and do. Crafting UX shows its age but we had a total blast nonetheless.
    • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Divinity: Original Sin 2 (haven't actually finished playing this yet, but) excellent RPG. Lots of ways to complete every quest offering a huge amount of flexibility with character building and exploration. Combat is hard, but rewarding.

    Sunderfolk has been on our list to try when we finish DOS2! As is Frosthaven, if/when it goes 1.0.

    1 vote